Greetings The CPA911 Newsletter May 2009 ------ > Contents < ------ QuickBooks Tips Minor Bug in 2009 R7 Update Puzzle - Win a Prize! New Poll - VOTE Contact Info Subscription Info ------ > QuickBooks TIPS < ------ *** Customer Credit for Unreturned Inventory *** A reader wrote to say that when she issues a credit for a damaged inventory item, she doesn't want to put that item back into inventory. She asked how to avoid bringing the inventory back when she creates a Credit Memo. There are two ways to accomplish this; a one-step method and a two-step method. The one-step method is to create an Item for this purpose that is NOT an inventory part. You can call it "Credit for Damaged Inventory" or something similar. The two-step method is to use the inventory item when you create the Credit Memo, and then do an Inventory Adjustment to reduce the inventory. Use an account named Damaged Inventory as the offset account (using either a COGS or Expense account, depending on your accountant's instructions). Some users prefer this method because it provides a better audit trail for the transactions. *** Invoicing From Estimate Without Percentages *** A reader wrote with the following question: "When I am creating an invoice from an estimate, I want to use a dollar amount from the estimate and bill that. For example, my estimate has a line item price for demolition of $6550.00 and I want to create an invoice for $1500.00. If I use the quantity/percentage selection I can't get to exactly $1500.00." When you create an invoice from an estimate, you can always enter an exact amount. In the pop-up, select the option labeled "Create invoice for selected items or for different percentages of each item". Then, in the dialog that opens (named Specify Invoice Amounts for Items on Estimate), select the option labeled "Show Quantity and Rate". Then fill in the Quantity and Rate or a total amount. *** Tracking Subcontractor Rates *** A reader explained that he had many subcontractors, and each contractor has an hourly rate. He wanted to know how to track the rates easily, and would really like the correct rate to come up automatically when he's writing checks. If you need the correct rate to appear automatically, you have to use Items instead of posting the check to an expense account. Set up a Service Item for each contractor. Actually, it's best to create a Service Item named Subcontractors and make each subcontractor's rate a subitem (e.g. Smith, Jones, etc), so they appear contiguously in the drop-down list when you write a check. Otherwise, you have to search for each name alphabetically in your Items list. Make sure the item is linked to the expense account you use for 1099 reporting (usually "Subcontractors" or "Outside Services"). Another method is to rename the contractor to include the rate, such as Smith-50 if subcontractor Smith charges you $50.00/hour. Remember that vendor names don't have to be the Payee name, because QuickBooks lets you specify the Payee name in the vendor record. While this doesn't automatically enter the rate in the line item, it puts the data in front of you and you can easily fill out the check using the Accounts tab instead of moving to the Items tab. This is useful if you sometimes pay the subcontractor for hours (reported on the 1099) and also reimburse the contractor for materials (which is posted to the appropriate expense using the Accounts tab). *** Changing Account Numbers *** Readers frequently write to ask us how to increase the number of digits in their account numbers. Usually, they want more digits so they can fine-tune their chart of accounts and they're running out of numbers. Many of these readers have figured out that the way to increase the number of digits is to open each account and type in a new number (you can use up to seven digits, and many readers have company files that have been in use since early versions of QuickBooks, when the default number of digits was four). Changing account numbers one at a time is onerous, time consuming, and exceedingly annoying. Here's a better way. Choose Files, Utilities, Export, Lists to IIF and select the Chart of Accounts as the list to be exported. Open that file in Excel and change the account numbers in the ACCNUM column. You can use Excel's shortcut functions to automate this process. For example, let's say your Insurance Expenses are currently numbered 6100 for Insurance (the parent account) and you have subaccounts numbered 6110-Automobile, 6120-Building, 6130-Liability, 6140-Workers Comp, and so on. You want to move to a six-digit account number. In Excel, change 6100 to 610000, and change 6110 to 610100. Select both cells and drag down to see that Excel will follow this pattern, numbering the next account 610200, and continuing the pattern. Even if you're going to enter the new account numbers manually, it's faster in Excel than in QuickBooks, where you have to select each account, press Ctrl-E to edit the account, enter the new number, and click OK. Save the Excel file as an IIF file (which is really a delimited text file) and import it back into your company file (Files, Utilities, Import, IIF Files). ------ > Minor Bug in 2009 R7 Update < ------ If you update 2009 to R7 (the latest update) you won't be able to see the Vendor and Customer notes in the Vendor Center or Customer Center. The text from notes that used to appear in the right pane when you select a Vendor or Customer is missing, so you have to click Edit Notes to see the text. Intuit is working on a fix. ------ > PUZZLE - WIN A PRIZE < ------ Several times each week we receive a query that reads something like this: "Many of my customers have credit balances, and I've never used the Credit Memo function. What is going on?" When we write back and ask if they ever collect payment at the time of the sale (a cash sale), they respond in the affirmative. What's the problem? Send your answer to puzzle@cpa911.com. In addition to the right answer, make sure your e-mail includes the following: A shipping address for the prize if you win (no P.O. Boxes). The book you want as your prize if you win - choose one of the following: Running QuickBooks 2009 Premier Editions Running QuickBooks in Nonprofits Excel for Accountants The winner will be selected at random from the pool of correct answers. ------ > New Poll < ------ We have a new poll on our home page (www.cpa911.com). We're asking you which enhancements to vendor activities you deem most important. Here are the results of our last poll, in which we asked what information you stored outside of QuickBooks: Inventory Information = 53% Customer/Sales Information = 25% Vendor/Expense Information = 7% Other Information (send details to cpa911.com) = 15% The vast majority of people who wrote to us after selecting "Other Information" said they stored sales rep data outside of QuickBooks so they could pay commissions. ------ > CONTACT INFO < ------ Copyright 2009 CPA911. Comments or questions? Write to: editor@cpa911.com. Visit our web site: http://www.cpa911.com. ------ > SUBSCRIPTION INFO < ------ You can forward this newsletter to anyone, as long as you forward it in its entirety. If you received a forwarded copy, subscribe for yourself at http://www.cpa911.com/newsletter.asp.